NEW DELHI: The spectacular Northern Lights visible only in high latitude regions like Finland, Greenland and Alaska came visiting here on Friday night at the lawns of the Hans Hofmann-designed Swiss Embassy in Chanakyapuri. Surprised? It wasn’t the natural phenomenon, but projections by 80-year-young Swiss light artiste Gerry Hofstetter illuminating trees in different hues — the Swiss flag, our tricolour, peacock feather, tiger and several other patterns — that left viewers awe-struck. The projections were as remarkable as Hofstetter himself who studied economics; rose to the position of a chief investment banker; went on to become a helicopter pilot and worked a special force captain in the Swiss Army and trained others for combat, search and rescue. After doing all this, he started a company and entered the field of doing projections on mountains, public buildings and natural heritage at the start of this Millennium. “I do this work mainly to inspire people; to take care of nature & life and be attentive about everything. About 70-80% of my work is where people usually don’t go like the Arctic, Antarctic, deserts and high mountain areas to depict messages. During Covid in March 2020 during the worldwide lockdown, for instance, I was living at the foothills of the Matterhorn for five weeks. I used to illuminate the Matterhorn every night — including in the Indian tricolour — to give people hope, to stay calm and healthy during the pandemic. That was a message of global solidarity,” Hofstetter told TOI. His work includes projecting icebergs to highlight global warming to save tigers. Speaking about the “light – Swiss art night,” Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner said: “My team is proud to present, for the first time in India, light art by renowned Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter. Gerry’s art is a unique combination of technological expertise and universal symbolism. The light art projections coincide with Diwali – the festival of lights.” This is the former chopper pilot’s first visit to India — “the only country in the world that celebrates light” — while referring to to Diwali. He saw the illumination at India Gate while driving around the city earlier this week and liked the “fixed installation of ambience light to highlight” the tricolour that reminds people “this monument is here and stands for India.” Hofstetter said though he had been dreaming to visit India for 30 years, he did not do so earlier as he knew he would “fall in love with the country and not be able to go back home to Switzerland.” “I like nature, culture, spiritual and bright life you have here for thousands of years. Now I am a wise man, a bit older, and the right time to be here. I will be here in 2023 — when India and Switzerland celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties — and in 2024 several times,” he said. Gerry is now going through the list of monuments and natural heritage in India where he can do projections. Friday night was extremely polluted in Delhi. Was that a factor he had to take into consideration while doing the projections at the Swiss Embassy? “Sometimes in life you have to take the opposite of negative so it turns to positive. Pollution was like fog (due to which) the light you were able to see was much more (than what would have been visible in pristine air) over the park. The smog played an artistic part like a light roof, a light tent. That was a miracle, a magic,” he said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/festival-of-lights-when-the-auroras-came-visiting-the-swiss-embassy-in-delhi/articleshow/95172356.cms